Spray nozzle assembly



April 7, 1970: RINNOSUKE susuKl ETAL 3,504,893

SPRAY NOZZLE ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 21, 1967 FIG. 1

mvsw'row BY CIA-[4 0M M Smtes Patent 3,504,893 SPRAY NOZZLE ASSEMBLYRinnosuke Susuki, Tokyo, and Hiroshi Hoshi, Chiba-ken, Japan, assignorsto Raion Yushi Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan Filed Aug. 21, 1967, Ser.No. 662,039 Claims priority, application Japan, Aug. 20, 1966, 41/54,689 Int. Cl. B05b 1/02; B65b; A46b 11/00 U.S. Cl. 239-488 7 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spray nozzle assembly having aliquid-atomizing mechanism so designed that a plurality of liquidstreams are fed while being rotated spiralwise at high speed so as tocollide against each other in a cavity provided adjacent the terminalsof the passageways of the streams and that, while taking-in the airlocated therearound, the collided streams of liquid are atomized. Thisnozzle assembly features that the sealing-off of the liquid from theliquid container, the control of the diverging angle of spray as well asthe size of the atomized liquid particles can be effected all in oneprocedure, namely, by turning the cap member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present inventionrelates to a spray nozzle assembly for use in spraying toiletpreparations such as hair lotion and perfume, and also chemicalsolutions including insecticidal solutions, and more particularly, to aspray nozzle assembly which is suited for use with a volatile materialsuch as petroleum products and which permits the closing off of theliquid from the liquid container as well as the adjustment of the sizeof the atomized liquid particles with a single manual procedure, namely,tuming the cap of the assembly.

Description of the prior art Convention spray nozzle assemblies may beroughly grouped into the following two types. One of them, which is avacuum-suction type used frequently in homes, is so designed that a gascurrent is made to impinge at high speed against a sucked-up liquidstream to thereby atomize the liquid. The other type which is calledpressure-feed sprayer which is used frequently in spraying chemicalsolutions is so designed that two-small sized liquid streams areejected, under pressure and at high speed, into air with a.predetermined angle relative to each other so that the two jet streamscollide against each other to cause the liquid to be atomized. Thesprayer of said first type produces relatively fine liquid particles,but in most cases, this is done with a low efficiency. The other type,in general, produces larger particles of liquid. Since the sprayer ofthis latter type is designed so that the liquid streams are adapted tocollide against each other outside the nozzles, the ejected liquid will,when ejected at low rate, fall out in drops. Moreover, this lattersprayer has shortcom ings that the control of the conditions such as theshape and the angle of the nozzles and the feed rate of liquid isdifficult, and that, for the foregoing reasons, the sprayer requires astructure which is large in scale. Furthermore, where a volatile liquidis contained in a reservoir vessel,

the volatile liquid will, during the period in which the sprayingoperation is suspended, evaporate and escape through the nozzles.Therefore, when the container is filled with a perfume or the like, theuser is required, at the end of each spray operation, to remove theatomizer device off the container and attach a cover onto the mouth3,504,893 Patented Apr. 7, 1970 ice SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is,therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a novel spraynozzle assembly which eliminates the foregoing shortcomings of the spraynozzle assemblies of the prior art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a spray nozzleassembly which is applicable not only to a squeezable bottle, but alsoto a sprayer of the pressurepump type of a large size.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a spraynozzle assembly which, by a mere turning of the cap member, will sealoff the liquid contained in the liquid-reservoir and which can be easilycontrolled of the size of the particles of liquid which is atomized, bya simple manual procedure, namely, by turning the cap of the device.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a spray nozzleassembly which has a novel liquid atomizing mechanism and which iscapable of ejecting a large amount of finely atomized liquid particlesand which permits the user to easily control the diverging angle of theliquid which is ejected through the spray nozzle.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a spraynozzle assembly which has a simplified mechanism and which can bemanufactured easily.

The structure and the function of the spray nozzle assembly of thepresent invention will hereunder be described by referring to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fractional longitudinalcross sectional view of the spray nozzle assembly of the presentinvention which is in the state of being attached to a squeezablebottle, with the cap being in its closed position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the atomizer head which represents oneembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the atomizer headof the present invention.

The drawings illustrate the spray nozzle assembly of the presentinvention which is in the state-of being attached, by utilizing athreaded portion 1a, to a squeezable container 1 made of a syntheticresin or like material. Where the spray nozzle assembly of the presentinvention is used with a pressure pump unit, it is only necessary thatthe nozzle assembly be coupled to a free end portion of a liquid feedpipe extending from the pump, in lieu of attaching the same to theaforesaid container 1. An atomizer head which is generally indicated at2 is snappingly attached to a free end portion of the container 1 filledwith a liquid for being atomized, by utilizing a projection 5 formedcircumferentially on the lower part of the atomizer head cylinder toinsure that the head would not come off casually from the mouth of saidcontainer 1. The spray head is of a structure comprising a substantiallyconical-shaped wall member which is so designed as to minimize thepressure of the liquid applied onto the inner face of the wall member,one or more liquid-communicating holes 4 formed through the wall member,a liquid stream revolving portion 3 of a substantially cylindrical shapestemming upwardly from the uppermost end of the conical-shaped wallmember, and further a columnar valve member 6 having a semi-globularforemost end and being provided at the upper end of said liquid streamrevolving portion 3. As is clearly seen in FIG. 2, the cylindricalliquid stream revolving portion 3 is such that the liquid runs in onedirection only and is provided with a plurality of spiral grooves whichare three, namely 3a, 3b and 3c in this instance, said spiral groovesbeing provided with the same pitch and they skirt the periphery of thecylindrical liquid stream revolving portion 3. These three spiralgrooves terminate on the end face of the cylindrical portion 3 at suchsites that the end face of said portion 3 is divided into three equalsections. The member which is indicated generally by 7 represents a capwhich is provided, at the top, with a spray hole 9 which serves also asa valve seat adapted to engage the aforesaid valve member 6 when the capis closed and further serves as the spray nozzle as a matter of fact.The lower portion adjacent to said hole 9 forms a cavity which surroundssaid columnar valve member 6 and constitutes an atomizer chamber 10,from which extends downwardly a bore 8 having an inner diameter slightlylarger than the external diameter of the cylindrical liquid streamrevolving portion 3. From said bore 8 extends a larger cavity 12 whichhouses the conicalshaped Wall member of the spray head. The lower partof the inner wall member of the cap 8 is provided with a threadedportion 11 for coupling the cap to either a liquid container 1 or aliquid feed pipe not shown. The mixture of liquid and air is performedsufiiciently in the larger cavity 12 so that outward ejection of liquidis promoted.

Now, when the cap 7 is turned to release the connection between thevalve member 6 and the spray hole 9, which are normally in the engagingstate, to produce a desired amount of space between the hole 9 and thevalve member 6, and when, subsequently, the container 1 is squeezed, oralternatively, when the pressure feed pump not shown is actuated, theliquid contained in the reservoir or container 1 is caused to passthrough the liquid communicating holes 4, intermixing with air in cavity12, and into the plurality of spiral grooves 3a, 3b and 30 formed on thecylindrical liquid stream revolving portion 3.

Since the bore 8 of the cap is of a diameter slightly larger than theexternal diameter of the cylindrical liquid stream revolving portion 3as has been described above, each of the spiral grooves is of a smallcross sectional area which is defined substantially by its own depth.The liquid running through these grooves gains a high speed, and whilebeing passed through the grooves in spiral direction, it is directedtowards the exit. In this part of the spray head, the liquid is dividedinto a plurality of fine streams by virtue of the plurality of grooves,and the fine streams of liquid are made to run spiralwise upwardly alongthe periphery of the cylinder 3, The running liquid streams take intothemselves the air located in the cavity or space of the cap and splitinto numerous fine particles of liquid. The particles of liquid whichhave left this part enter into the atomizing chamber where the particlesare caused to impinge against each other. While again taking in theambient air, the liquid particles are further completely atomized intoperfectly isolated, individual, extremely fine particles which are thenejected through the spray hole 9. In case the cap is turned through aconsiderable distance resulting in a greater gap between the valvemember 6 and the spray hole 9, the particles of liquid will have arelatively large size and the spray will assume a linear pattern.However, by reducing this gap, the particles of liquid which are toleave from the atomizing chamber 10 will impinge against the valvemember 6 and also against the face of the inner wall of the spray hole 9to thereby be turned into still finer particles. As a result, a spraywhich is of an inverted conical shape defined by the angle formed by thegap between the valve member 6 and the spray hole 9 is obtained. This ispartly due to the reduced axial length of the engaged portion betweenthe cylindrical liquid stream revolving portion 3 and the bore 8 as aresult of the turning of the cap.

As has been described, the spray nozzle assembly of the presentinvention is so designed that the liquid is passed through a pluralityof narrow spiral grooves at high speed while taking in air, thuseffecting the formation of liquid particles of the first stage; then theparticles of liquid thus formed are fed into the atomizing chamber to bemixed with a sufficient amount of air so that substantially completeatomization of the second stage is performed; and furthermore, theatomization of the third stage can be carried out, as required, in thevicinity of the spray hole immediately before the fine liquid particlesare ejected therethrough. Thus, the spray nozzle assembly of the presentinvention is completely different from those of the prior art and isbased on a novel conception.

When it is intended to discontinue the use of the device, it is onlynecessary for the user to screw the cap until it assumes its initialposition where the valve member 6 was in engagement with the spray hole9. By doing so, the interior of the container 1 is perfectly shut off ofits communication with the air located externally thereof. For thisreason, even in case the content is a volatile liquid, there is no fearthat the liquid will evaporate and become lost. Moreover, the spraynozzle assembly of the present invention can be used in many ways. Forexample, in case it is desired to use this device with a liquid such asperfume, the user will unscrew the cap to an extent that there will beproduced a very small gap between the valve member and the spray nozzleso that a wide diverging spray of fine liquid particles may be obtained.In case it is intended to use this device with a liquid such as hairshampoo, the cap will be turned through a considerable distance and thecontainer will be squeezed gently. By doing so, spray which is closer toa linear stream is obtained. It is apparent that selective axialshifting movement of the cap spray-hole-end relative to the valve andplanar end of the cylindrical skirting member 3, selectively effects avariable amount, degree and type of spray of the liquid issuingtherefrom.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the atomizer head of the presentinvention wherein spiral grooves 3e and 3 which run in oppositedirections with the same pitch are provided on the surface of thecylindrical liquid stream revolving portion 3. In this instance, thecurrents of liquid which are passed through the grooves are caused tocollide against each other at the sites of intersection of the groovesso that the atomizing effect of the aforesaid first stage is furtherpromoted.

The spray nozzle assembly of the present invention having the structureillustrated in the drawings bears all of the advantages which have beenstated earlier in this specification, and therefore, it should be termedas being an epoch-making spray nozzle assembly.

It should be understood that various modifications of the spray nozzleassembly may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit of the present invention. The embodiments described andillustrated herein should be understood as being provided simply by wayof example and the present invention is not restricted to theseembodiments alone.

What is claimed is:

1. A spray nozzle and cap assembly having axes disposed coaxially andconstituting a hollow atomizer head for use on a neck portion of aliquid supply vessel, comprising in combination:

(a) a partially hollow conical member having at least oneliquid-communicating hole formed through the conical portion thereof;

(b) a cylindrical shaped skirting member extending coaxially from saidconical member and having an upper planar face disposed generally normalto the axis thereof, and having a lower end portion joining with saidconical portion;

(c) at least one non-tapering spiral groove of uniform pitch formed insaid cylindrical skirting member commencing at a lower portion adjacentthe conical member and terminating in said upper planar face;

(d) a columnar valve member with a free end projecting axially from saidplanar face of said cylindrical member;

(e) a cap member having a generally closed top end and an open skirtedlower end, said cap member shaped to freely enclose said conical memberin a substantially radially-spaced-apart manner, and to also enclosesaid skirting member in a constantly but freely slidable engagingmanner;

(f) a preliminary air-and-liquid mixing cavity formed between saidconical member and a radially enlarged portion of said cap memberlocated adjacent the lower end of said cylindrical skirting member;

(g) a separate cylindrically shaped cavity constituting an atomizingchamber disposed upwardly adjacent of said spiral groove and planarface, within said cap member and spaced upwardly and separately at alltimes from said preliminary mixing cavity; and

(h) said cap member having a spray hole opening axially thereof into theatmosphere and being adapted to be closed by said columnar valveextending thereinto responsive to movement of said cap member relativeto said skirting and valve member.

2. A spray nozzle and cap assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein thepreliminary mixing cavity and the atomizing cavity are separate and onlyindirectly connected by said spiral groove.

3. A spray nozzle and cap assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein saidcylindrical skirting member is provided with a plurality of spacedapart, uniform pitch spiral grooves extending upwardly from the lowerportion and terminating in the upper planar face end thereof, anddividing said face into equal sections whereby plural streams of mixedliquid and air from the preliminary mixing cavity are more intimatelyatomized within said atomizing chamber.

4. A spray nozzle and cap assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein saidgrooves are of the same pitch and disposed in opposite and intersectingdirections relative to each other whereby the preliminary mixed liquidand air as it travels up the spiral groove is more intimately intermixedas the liquid streams intersect at intersecting portions of theintersecting grooves.

5. A spray nozzle and cap assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein theatomizer head assembly includes means for separately mounting the sameon a neck portion of a liquid supply vessel, said means for mountingsame on said vessel including complementary interengaging threads onsaid outer portion of said vessel neck and on the inner lower peripheralportion of said cap member, and also snap-fitting interengaging acomplementary bead and bead-receiving groove means on a lower outerperipheral portion of said conical member and the upper inner peripheralportion of said vessel neck portion.

6. A spray nozzle and cap assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein the capspray hole is rounded at its inner and outer peripheral edges and thefree end of said columnar valve is similarly rounded whereby axiallyrelative movement of the cap and valve selectively effect a variableamount of spray of the atomized liquid in a smoothly divergent manner.

7. A spray nozzle and cap assembly having axes disposed coaxially, andconstituting a hollow atomizer head for use on a neck portion of aliquid supply vessel, comprising in combination:

(a) a partially hollow conical member having at least oneliquid-communicating hole formed through the conical portion thereof,and having at least partial annular radially-outward projection means ona lower peripheral portion thereof for interlocking engagement with saidvessel neck;

(b) a cylindrical shaped skirting member extending coaxially from saidconical member and having an upper planar face disposed generally normalto the axis thereof, and having a lower end portion joining with saidconical portion;

(c) a plurality of 'three separate, non-intersecting grooves of uniformpitch formed in the outer periphery of said cylindrical skirting membercommencing at a lowermost portion adjacent the conical member andterminating in said upper, planar face at three equal-spaced places onsaid face;

(d) a columnar valve member with a free, rounded end projecting axiallyfrom said planar face of said cylindrical skirting member;

(e) a cap member having a generally closed top end and an open skirtedlower end, said cap member shaped to freely enclose said conical memberin a substantial radially-spaced-apart manner, and to also enclose saidcylindrical skirting member in a constantly but freely slidable engagingmanner; said cap also including lower peripheral means for engaging saidvessel neck on the outer periphery to permit relative axial shiftingmovement therebetween;

(f) a preliminary air-and-liquid mixing-cavity formed between saidconical member and a radially enlarged portion of said cap member andlocated adjacent the lower end of said cylindrical skirting member, saidcavity. being of generally triangular shape in radial cross-section;

(g) a separate, cylindrical shaped cavity constituting an atomizingchamber disposed upwardly adjacent of said spiral grooves and planarface within said cap member, and spaced upwardly at all times from saidpreliminary mixing cavity; and

(h) said cap having a spray hole opening to the atmosphere axially ofthe generally closed top end, and said hole being selectively opened andclosed by said rounded end of the columnar valve extending thereintoresponsive to axial relative movement between said cap member and saidvalve; and said axial shifting movement of said cap spray hole, endrelative to said planar end face and said rounded valve end selectivelyeffects a variable amount and degree of fineness of atomized liquidissuing from said atomizer head.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 538,006 4/ 1895 Wynell 2394881,474,253 11/ 1923 Gansz 22521 3,240,404 3/ 1966 Porter et a1 22252l3,248,022 4/ 1966 Schulman et al 239-488 3,259,282 7/1966 Jellesen222--521 3,347,463 10/ 1967 Baker 239488 FOREIGN PATENTS 507,356 12/1954 Italy.

EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

